title: Validity and reliability of nutrition screening administered by nurses.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nutrition screening is usually administered by nurses. However, most studies on nutrition screening tools have not used nurses to validate the tools. The 3-Minute Nutrition Screening (3-MinNS) assesses weight loss, dietary intake, and muscle wastage, with the composite score of each used to determine risk of malnutrition. The aim of the study was to determine the validity and reliability of 3-MinNS administered by nurses, who are the intended assessors.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this cross-sectional study, 3 ward-based nurses screened 121 patients aged 21 years and over using 3-MinNS in 3 wards within 24 hours of admission. A dietitian then assessed patients' nutrition status using Subjective Global Assessment within 48 hours of admission, while blinded to the results of the screening. To assess the reliability of 3-MinNS, 37 patients screened by the first nurse were rescreened by a second nurse within 24 hours, who was blinded to the results of the first nurse. The sensitivity, specificity, and best cutoff score for 3-MinNS were determined using the receiver operator characteristics curve.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The best cutoff score to identify all patients at risk of malnutrition using 3-MinNS was 3, with sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 88%. This cutoff point also identified all (100%) severely malnourished patients. There was strong correlation between 3-MinNS and SGA (r = .78, P < .001). The agreement between 2 nurses conducting the 3-MinNS tool was 78.3%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 3-MinNS is a valid and reliable tool for nurses to identify patients at risk of malnutrition.
authors.affiliation: Su Lin Lim, BSc, Dietetics Department, National University Hospital, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Main Building, Level 1, Singapore 119074, Singapore. Email: su_lin_lim@nuhs.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Su Lin
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ang
authors.forename: Yet Li
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Foo
authors.forename: Lian Ye
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Chung Yan
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Maree
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferguson
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Daniels
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004046:Dietetics; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D008875:Middle Aged; D009133:Muscular Atrophy; D009726:Nurses; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015431:Weight Loss; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Nutrition Screening; Subjective Global Assessment; nurses; nutrition assessment; nutritional status